Hey, You’re Charles Barkley Not Tiger Woods So Play the Correct Tees

Maybe my biggest pet peeve in golf is amateur golfers who insist on “playing from the back”. You’ve seen them. Without checking the yardage or course slope and rating they automatically take their ego inflated selves to the far reaches of the back tees. There they proceed to take out their Pro V1’s and smash it an amazing 200 yards……right off the fairway. Why play Pebble Beach from the back tees when you can't break 80 on your local muni?

What’s up with that? Please take your stylish clothes, un-needed top of the line equipment and your weekend warrior swing up a few tee boxes and help all of us enjoy our day at the golf course a lot more. Shooting 100 from the tips during a five hour round cannot be enjoyable for either you or the groups behind you who are ready to remove your playing privileges after the first hole.

If you are a scratch golfer then feel free to play from 7,000 yards. If you are good enough to break eighty then maybe 6700 yards. For the rest of us, drop the masochistic tendencies and get your butt up to a more comfortable yardage. We’ll all feel better if you do.

Course Design

Let me explain why playing from the correct tees is important. A well designed course has certain features based on distance. For example, a short 380 yard hole is designed with the idea that players will be playing a very short iron, with lots of loft, into the green. There are no openings to “run the ball up” onto the green. Any lack of hole length is compensated for with well trapped, small and unforgiving greens. So, if you only hit it 200 off the tee and are hitting long irons to a tiny green meant to hold only wedge shots then you are in for a very long day.

If you played that same hole from the proper tees for your ability then you too would be hitting wedge into the green. You not only will score better and have a more enjoyable day, you will get to understand and appreciate all that goes into a well designed course.

Thank You

So please, keep the logo’d shirts, fancy pants, too good golf balls and spit polished shoes if you must. But leave the oversized ego at home, move up to where you belong, and everyone on the golf course will have a more enjoyable, and shorter, round of golf.